. >> reporter: vice president joe biden told a vfw gathering in indianapolis that while america's role in iraq is winding down the u.s. mission in afghanistan has just begun. and the top army commander in charge of training the afghan army says it will be some time before the afghanies will be strong enough to stand on their own. >> what i will tell you is i think most people realize we have not even finished building the afghan national army or police forces or air force at this point. >> reporter: bill caldwell says the afghan army may not be ready to take off before the planned july 23011 troop draw down and it may take until the fall of 2011 to train the 300,000 afghan soldiers and police officers. it's a change made even greater by did he certifications and other losses. >> these losses include desertions, deaths and low retention. they pose the greatest threat to both quantity and quality of the afghan national security force. >> reporter: vice president biden assess as optimistic about the prospect for success in afghanistan. >> after too many years of neglect we have clearly de